| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Drift Netting
12. Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet representatives of the fishing industry to discuss drift netting for migratory fish. [5206]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: I expect to meet members of the Association of Scottish District Salmon Fishery Boards early in the new year.
Mr. Bellingham: Is my hon. Friend aware that there is huge concern in Scotland about the north-east drift net fishery, which regularly takes 50,000 salmon a year that would otherwise have run up Scottish rivers? Why is drift netting banned in Scotland, as it is in most other countries, but legal in England? Will my hon. Friend meet his MAFF colleagues to ensure that the fishery is closed down, with full compensation?
Mr. Robertson: I know that my hon. Friend has pursued this issue on many occasions at Scottish questions and with many Scottish Fisheries Ministers. He will be pleased to know that the phasing out of drift netting is proceeding, and that the number of licence holders has dropped by nearly 30 per cent. since 1992.
Sir David Steel: Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to the work of the Tweed Foundation and the research that it is doing into migratory fish? Will he keep a close watch on the numbers being caught in the open seas, bearing in mind the decline in the east coast rivers of Scotland?
Mr. Robertson: I am happy to agree wholeheartedly with the right hon. Gentleman. He will be pleased to know that interest groups, including the National Rivers Authority, support a shorter phase-out period.
Sir Hector Monro: Will my hon. Friend do all that he can to hasten the phasing out of the north-east drift net? He will appreciate that the wild salmon stock in our east coast rivers has been falling fast. That will inevitably have
a long-term effect on the tourist industry, for example. Will my hon. Friend take the opportunity to say whether he has obtained a minimum import price for farmed salmon?
Mr. Robertson: My right hon. Friend, who had my job until July, is fully aware of the problems that have had to be faced. He has pursued the drift net issue from the Government Front Bench, as he has from the Back Benches. He will be pleased to know that there are now fewer licences. There were 149 in 1985 and in 1995 the number is 99 and falling.
My right hon. Friend will be delighted to know that the European Union has announced a minimum import price. I am delighted to have had the opportunity of working hard with the Scottish industry in tackling the problem.
NHS Trusts (Management Expenses)
13. Mr. Robert Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with NHS trusts on management expenses. [5207]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Discussion between officials of the Scottish Office and NHS trusts on trust matters take place on an on-going basis. Trusts in Scotland have been asked to reduce their administration costs.
Mr. Hughes: Even on the Government's own figures, there has been a staggering increase in administration costs over the past four years from £218 million a year to £355 million. As Scottish Office Ministers have defended those increases to the last ditch, what reasons can the Government give for asking for a cut in administration costs without acknowledging incompetence and failure?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The hon. Gentleman must bear it in mind that more patients are being treated than ever before. That factor must be taken into account. The hon. Gentleman must appreciate that expenditure on the national health service in Scotland has increased steadily in real terms. We are insisting on a 5 per cent. switch of resources from administration, which I think he would support. That applies to trusts and health boards. That should result in £14 million more being spent by trusts on patient care. An additional £4 million will be available to health boards. It is right that we should concentrate on the top priorities of heart disease, mental illness and cancer. These are three of the highest priorities in Scotland.
Local Government Electoral Reform
14. Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to implement local government electoral reform. [5209]
Mrs. Michie: Last night, the Secretary of State said that he was open to positive suggestions on further constitutional reform. Will the Minister try to persuade him that one of the most enlightened reforms that he could undertake would be to introduce a fair voting system based on proportional representation for local government elections? That would make councils more accountable and representative and it would be an
incentive for voters to vote. The reform should be attractive to the Secretary of State because, if implemented, it might just result in more Tory council seats. After all, Tory councillors are becoming an endangered species in Scotland.
Mr. Kynoch: When talking about a fair electoral system, the hon. Lady should talk to her colleagues in the Liberal Democrat party about a fair electoral system for their proposed tax-raising Parliament. She seems to have botched together some deal to get her party's proposals off the ground. It seems that about 56 of the 129 Members that they are proposing would be party hacks.
Mr. Bill Walker: Does my hon. Friend agree that the Conservative party has never changed constitutional rules to secure narrow benefits at elections? We are concerned about having a constitution that will stand the test of time, as has the unwritten constitution of the United Kingdom. We shall have no truck with Members being selected in smoke-filled rooms instead of at the ballot box.
Mr. Kynoch: I totally agree with my hon. Friend.
National Lottery
15. Mr. Jessel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of benefits to Scotland from the national lottery. [5211]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Scotland is doing extremely well from the national lottery. To date, more than 560 awards have been made, totalling around £125 million.
Mr. Jessel: Will my hon. Friend confirm that the sums available for Scotland from the national lottery for the arts, heritage, sports, charities and the millennium fund are far larger than originally predicted, that that is bringing widespread benefits to Scotland, and that the national lottery is a brilliant national achievement?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Some £23 million has gone towards Scotland's Field of Dreams at Hampden. The arts have received £27 million, sports £16 million, charities £17 million, heritage £22 million and the millennium £40 million, which includes a millennium forest that will extend the cover of native woodlands in Scotland. Some 80 per cent. of the awards have been for less than £100,000, so hundreds of small sports clubs, amateur dramatic societies and local museums have benefited to an extent beyond their wildest dreams.
Mr. Maxton: Will the Minister join me in congratulating Austin Reilly of the national stadium committee, Queen's Park football club and the Scottish Football Association on obtaining £21 million from the millennium fund for the continuing redevelopment of Hampden? Will he also find an opportunity to discuss with the Secretary of State for National Heritage the changes to the rules in the operation of the national lottery to ensure that some of the money can be used for revenue spending for the arts rather than entirely for capital spending, thus removing the threat that hangs over Scottish Opera and some of our other great cultural organisations?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for National Heritage will have heard the hon. Gentleman's question. I share the hon.
Gentleman's great enthusiasm for Hampden's success and for that of many other projects in Scotland, including the Glasgow film theatre, the Scottish gallery of modern art, and the Strathclyde Poverty Alliance, in which he has an interest. In addition, £1.5 million has gone to Tayside regional council for a sports complex.Director General of Oflot
3.30 pm
Dr. John Cunningham (Copeland) (by private notice): To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement about the conduct of the Director General of Oflot and her decision to retain him in his post.
The Secretary of State for National Heritage (Mrs. Virginia Bottomley): I met the director general yesterday to discuss the issues surrounding the flights and hospitality that GTech provided for him and his staff on visits in America.
My confidence in the director general remains. There is no doubt about his integrity. He has played a major part in the launch of the highly successful lottery. He was responsible for the conscientious and effective evaluation of bids for the licence to run the lottery. The process was endorsed by the National Audit Office as
The visits to America took place some months after Oflot awarded the main licence to Camelot. The director general considered with care the issues raised, recorded them thoroughly, and made no attempt to hide them. He declared his interests appropriately. There has been no question of his having sought or received personal gain from the visits that he undertook.
The director general is accountable to Parliament. He is making a full report on his overseas travel and hospitality arrangements to the Public Accounts Committee. He has assured me that there are no other issues that may come to light subsequently which could affect my decision in this matter.
I have told the director general that I do not think that his acceptance of the flights was wise in the context of his role as regulator of the lottery. Within the statutory role that he performs, which is to ensure that the lottery is run with propriety, that the interests of players are protected and, subject to that, that the proceeds for good causes are as great as possible, it is inevitable that he needs to work closely with Camelot. I have told him that this fact makes it all the more important that he should maintain a proper distance from the company and its constituent parts, and be seen to do so, taking all steps to guard against any possible misunderstanding of his actions.
"comprehensive, consistent, logical and properly controlled",
in line with the statutory duties placed on him.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |